Turkish Baklava Recipe

Syrup-soaked treats are a big deal in Turkish recipes. Baklava might be the most famous one, but there's a lot more to try.

Just think about Turkish desserts like kadayif, kanafeh, and tulumba - they're all worth a taste!

Are you one of those big fans of Turkish baklava? Do you sigh whenever you crave it because you don’t know how to make baklava at home? Don’t worry! Please read on. 

As a Turkish couple, we love to share recipes from our cuisine on the blog. And today, we are sharing the best baklava recipe we have made.

What Is Baklava?

Baklava is a super tasty dessert, and it's the most famous one in Turkey. Imagine this: Thin layers of flaky phyllo pastry is stuffed with crushed nuts like pistachios or walnuts, and baked together until it's golden and crispy. 

Then the baked baklava is soaked in a sweet syrup that is made of water, sugar and lemon juice. Sounds yummy, right?

Even though baklava is a big deal in Turkey, it's also known in a bunch of other places too. And they all make it a little bit differently. 

Some places might use different kinds of nuts in the filling, or add cinnamon or cloves. Some add honey or orange zest in the syrup. So every place has its own special way to make baklava even more delicious.

Where Is Baklava From?

Well, this is a very controversial topic and several nations including Turks, Greeks, Arabs, Armenians and Bulgarians claim that they own the origin of baklava.

There is no agreement on where it was first made, but it’s obvious that every nation has made its twist on baklava. Since it is the historians’ job to find the reality, we just want to say a few things about Turkish baklava history.

The world-famous baklava dessert, which we always have room for, had a very important place in the Ottoman Empire, especially in the fifteenth century.

Baklava was served at all special occasions like wedding ceremonies, festivals and religious events. It was the dessert of any celebration. 

It is said that the form of baklava changed a lot in the past and it had its current form in Topkapi Palace kitchen in Istanbul during the Ottoman Empire period. It still keeps its special place in Turkish culture today. 

Is Making Baklava Easy?

Making Turkish baklava at home is a tradition to celebrate religious events like Eid. Other than this, it’s not really common to make it at home. People prefer to buy it from pastry shops or small baklava shops.

People used to make their baklava dough from scratch, which takes time and requires effort. Older people still keep this tradition during religious festivals but not everyone has that skill or time to make baklava sheets at home though. 

Today, people prefer the easy way of making baklava. They use store-bought baklava phyllo pastry sheets. Believe it or not, it gets sooo easy when the phyllo sheets are ready on hand and you don't have to roll them out from scratch. 

What you need is to assemble by layering the sheets and walnuts in a pan. And these filo pastry baklavas come out as good as the authentic ones. 

Of course, it depends on the quality of the ingredients you use. So, try to use the best products when you decide to make this easy baklava recipe.

Ingredients

Although it is a very special Turkish pastry that everyone craves for, it doesn’t require anything fancy. Here are the simple ingredients of baklava: 

1. Phyllo pastry: Also known as filo dough or filo pastry, this is the main ingredient for baklava. It's a paper-thin pastry dough that, when layered and baked, results in a wonderfully flaky and crispy texture. You can easily find it in the freezer section of grocery stores.
2. Butter: Melted butter is brushed onto each layer of filo dough before it's baked. This helps the baklava become golden and crisp.
3. Nuts: Typically, Turkish baklava filling uses pistachios or walnuts.They're usually ground or finely chopped and layered in between the filo sheets. 
4. Sugar Syrup: Water, sugar and a lemon wedge (or a teaspoon of lemon juice) are boiled together to create a simple syrup. This syrup is crucial in baklava making as it is poured over the cooked pastry, allowing it to soak into the layers. It gives a sweet, sticky finish to the baklava.
5. Ground pistachio topping: It not only enhances the aesthetic appeal of the dessert but also boosts its nutty flavor.

About The Filling

Homemade baklava in Turkey changes a lot depending on where you are. Even though the famous Turkish baklava has pistachios in it, that's not the only way to make it.

Making baklava with pistachios can be pricey because pistachios aren't cheap. So, when folks make baklava at home, they usually use walnuts instead.

In the southeast of Turkey, where lots of pistachios are grown, pistachio baklava is a big deal.

But, in the middle of Turkey, known as Central Anatolia, they usually make baklava with crushed walnuts.

If you head west, you'll find baklava made with almonds.

And in the north, they like to fill their baklava with hazelnuts. So, there's lots of ways to enjoy baklava across Turkey!

Here in this recipe, we use walnuts in the filling and ground pistachio on the top because we love them both. 

Which nuts to use for baklava filling is completely up to your taste. You can even make a nut mixture using all the nuts you like and use it as the filling of your baklava.

About The Baklava Syrup

The ingredients for syrup in a traditional Turkish baklava are water, sugar and a slice of lemon. The ratio here is 2 and ½ cups sugar to 2 cups water. Lemon gives the syrupy consistency needed. 

There is no additional flavorings in Turkish baklava syrup, but there are recipes with rosewater or orange blossom water. So if you want to enrich the syrup, go ahead and use them.

We use the same sugar syrup when making several other syrupy desserts like lokma, şekerpare, revani and halka tatlisi.

How To Make Turkish Baklava Recipe

It is really so easy to make baklava using a package of phyllo pastry. This easy baklava recipe has a few easy steps:

Make the syrup: Put water, sugar and a slice of lemon in a saucepan. Heat until sugar dissolves, stirring occasionally. Bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat and let it simmer for 15 minutes. Then let it cool.

Prepare the sheets of phyllo dough: Trim the phyllo sheets to fit your baking pan. We used a baklava pan but any baking pan works fine. Then cover them with a damp towel to prevent them from drying out and breaking.

Assemble baklava: Place 5 phyllo sheets in the pan, brushing each with melted butter. Sprinkle walnuts after the fifth phyllo sheet. Be generous. Continue with another 5 phyllo sheets, brushing each with butter and sprinkling crumbled walnuts on the fifth one. Repeat this 5 times.

The order is as follows:

• 4 buttered phyllo sheets, 1 phyllo sheet with no butter, ½ cup walnuts (makes 5 phyllo sheets, 1 layerwalnuts)
• 4 buttered phyllo sheets, 1 phyllo sheet with no butter, ½ cup walnuts (makes 5 phyllo sheets, 1 layerwalnuts)
• 4 buttered phyllo sheets, 1 phyllo sheet with no butter, ½ cup walnuts (makes 5 phyllo sheets, 1 layerwalnuts)
• 4 buttered phyllo sheets, 1 phyllo sheet with no butter, ½ cup walnuts (makes 5 phyllo sheets, 1 layerwalnuts)
• 5 buttered phyllo sheets. Butter the top.
• In total, we have 25 phyllo sheets with 4 layers of walnuts.

Bake baklava: Cut the uncooked baklava pastry in diamonds or squares with a sharp knife and bake until golden brown.

Soak the baklava in syrup: Pour cooled syrup over hot baklava and let it sit until it absorbs the syrup, at least 4-5 hours.

How To Cut Baklava

Traditionally baklava is cut in diamond shapes. It might be a big deal if you have never tried it before, but it is not as hard as you think.

First, cut the raw baklava into vertical strips. Use a sharp knife for this and cut it all the way to the bottom of the pan so that the syrup spreads evenly. Then cut it diagonally to make that diamond shape.

Alternatively, you can just cut it into squares or rectangles. Shape doesn’t matter at all. It is still your super tasty baklava. Right?

Expert Tips

Making this baklava recipe is a fun process, but it also requires some care. Here are some key tips to remember:

1. Keep the Phyllo Dough Moist: Phyllo dough can dry out pretty quickly. When you're working with it, keep the unused sheets covered with a slightly damp cloth to prevent them from drying out and becoming brittle.
2. Don’t Skimp on the Butter: Be generous with the melted butter between the layers of phyllo. It helps to get the baklava crispy and golden.
3. Chop the Nuts Well: Make sure to finely chop or grind the nuts in a food processor. Big pieces can make the baklava difficult to cut and eat.
4. Slice Before Baking: You should cut your baklava into pieces before you put it in the oven. It's much easier to cut when it's raw, and the edges will get nice and crispy when you bake it. 
5. Add more flavors to the syrup: Although we don't have them in Turkish baklava, you can add a cinnamon stick and a few whole cloves in the syrup mixture if you want.
6. To make baklava with honey, make a simple honey syrup: Combine 1 cup water and 1 cup sugar in a saucepan. Heat it until the sugar dissolves, stirring occasionally. Add in honey and 1 slice of lemon (or 1 tablespoon lemon juice) and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat and let it simmer for about 10 minutes or until it has a slightly thickened consistency. Remove from the heat and let it cool before pouring it over the newly baked baklava.
7. Add Syrup to Warm Baklava: When you pour the sugar syrup over the baklava, make sure the syrup is cool and the baklava is still warm. This way, the syrup will soak into the layers better.
8. Be Patient: After the syrup is added, let the baklava rest for a few hours, or even overnight if you can. This gives the syrup time to really soak in, making your baklava even tastier.

What To Serve It With

We serve baklava either with Turkish Tea or Turkish coffee, preferably with no sugar added as the dessert itself is already sweet enough.

Besides tea or coffee, some people love to pair their baklava with Turkish Ice Cream or kaymak (clotted cream).

Storing

Storing baklava properly is important to keep it tasting fresh and delicious. Here are some simple steps to follow:

1. Cool Completely: Before you store your baklava, make sure it's completely cooled. Storing it while it's still warm could make it go soggy.
2. At Room Temperature: Baklava can be kept at room temperature for about a week. Just cover it loosely with foil or plastic wrap. Don't seal it up tight - you want a bit of air to be able to circulate so it doesn't get too moist.
3. In the Fridge: If you want to keep your baklava for longer, you can store it in the fridge. Again, keep it loosely covered. It can last for a couple of weeks this way.
4. In the Freezer: Baklava also freezes well. You can put it in a freezer-safe container or bag. Make sure it's sealed up well to protect it from freezer burn. You can keep it in the freezer for up to 3 months.

To serve it from the freezer, just let it thaw at room temperature. Don't reheat it, as this could make it go soggy.

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